Philippine flood-control scandal resurfaces after latest monsoon deluge

The controversy is again haunting President Marcos as flooded communities see little progress from his promised anti-corruption push

Metro Manila was inundated on Monday with 201.7 mm of rain in just five hours, leaving residents wading through floodwaters, vehicles stranded and some areas not usually considered flood-prone submerged.

Outside the capital, villages across parts of Luzon were also swamped after weeks of southwest monsoon rains, forcing thousands of families from their homes and reviving a familiar question: why does the country keep flooding despite huge sums spent to prevent it?

That frustration was reflected by Senator Panfilo Lacson, who questioned why communities continued to be submerged year after year, despite nearly 2 trillion pesos (US$32.4 billion) being poured into flood-control projects since 2011.